Sprinkling used coffee grounds in garden

[Francis Barnswallow]

Is this a good idea?

[ACW]

Yes ,it conditions the soil adds nitrogen ,I find it slows the slug attacks on strawberrys and leafy vegetables .
also in my cool climate the black helps absorb heat from the sun .

[DoubleDogFarm]

It also may help against wireworm. One of the local farmers here, is testing it for potatoes.

Eric

[rainbowgardener]

Yes, if you really mean sprinkling. Some people dump coffee grounds on top of the soil and then they harden up and crust over and prevent water from getting through and don't break down as well. Best to go a little lighter and scratch them into the soil a little bit. But they are high in nitrogen.

[mansgirl]

Ooo.. I like this idea. lol.. Will my garden prefer decaf or regular? I'd definently love to try this around my warmer climate peppers next summer, and around my kale if it really does help with slugs. Thanks!

[rainbowgardener]

Does add some nitrogen and potassium... I don't think there's strong evidence that coffee grounds actually work very much against slugs. They aren't sharp enough to be real irritant and the acid and caffeine have mostly been brewed out of them.

If you have a slug problem, type slugs or slug control into the Search the Forum keyword box; there's been tons written here about them.

Here's just a few suggestions to start with:

You can get copper strips to put around your plants which are supposed to keep them away.

all kinds of rough or abrasive or tangling things can act as a physical barrier without killing them... they have to flow across the ground to get to your plants. So pine needle mulch, sweet gum tree seed balls, sandpaper, roof shingles, bark mulch, gravel chips, clothes drier lint, hair or pet fur. Any of these around your plants should keep the slugs from getting to it.

[applestar]

Good suggestions rainbow. I do believe, though, that it's the caffeine that affect the slugs so definitely "regular" mansgirl, but used coffee grounds may not be as effective as unused.

[garden5]

Apps, if your coffee-bean experiment goes as planned, you can manufacture you own grounds for free .

However, if you aren't growing a coffee bush but would still like a good supply of grounds, contact your local Starbucks or other coffeeshop and ask if they will save grounds for you. Perhaps offer to supply them with a container. I hear that you can get a good amount of grounds fast this way.